Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 16 September 2020
164. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which he remains satisfied of the ability of the agri-business sector to develop alongside the need to meet carbon reduction targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24411/20]
View answerThe Programme for Government commits to an average 7% per annum reduction in overall greenhouse gas emissions from 2021 to 2030 (a 51% reduction over the decade) and to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Every sector is expected to contribute to meeting this target by implementing policy changes, and the special economic and social role of agriculture and the distinct characteristics of biogenic methane, as described by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, will be fully recognised in plans to achieve these targets.
The agri-food sector has a strong foundation on which it can build to develop new practices, technologies and strategies to reduce its emissions. Many of these will also have co-benefits in terms of improving the productivity and efficiency of agri-food businesses, and indeed in terms of other environmental co-benefits. Taking a system-wide approach can thus improve their environmental, economic and social sustainability.
I am acutely aware of the enormity of this challenge for the sector and for this reason, I believe that the successor strategy to Food Wise 2025 can play an important role in providing a framework for helping to realise this ambition. The agri-food sector has been well served over the last 20 years by having a series of ten-year strategies to guide its development and we have committed in the Programme for Government that this should continue with the preparation of a new strategy to 2030.
The Stakeholder Committee established to develop the new Strategy are currently carrying out their deliberations. Their terms of reference are to outline the vision and key objectives, with associated actions, required to ensure the economic, environmental and social sustainability of the agri-food sector in the decade ahead. I have already met with the Chair of the Committee, Tom Arnold, and the Committee itself and I am satisfied that their work will undoubtedly make a very important contribution to ensuring the viability of the agri-food sector. The Programme for Government has committed to publishing the strategy within six months of Government formation. It also stated that the strategy should provide an ambitious blueprint for the industry for the years ahead, adding value sustainably in the agri-food sector into the future, and supporting family farms and employment in rural Ireland. There is also a commitment to ensure that, in addition to growing international markets and value-added export as a key priority, a strategic focus of the strategy will be on environmental protection, reversing biodiversity decline and developing additional market opportunities for primary producers, closer to home.
